TWO fanatical Pakistan cricket supporters yesterday denied having anything to do with the murder of team coach Bob Woolmer in Jamaica.

Erfan Chaudhary and Tariq Malik were named as two of four "hangers-on" to the Pakistan team during the World Cup who are wanted for questioning by detectives.

But last night, medical technician Mr Chaudhary, who works in Queens, New York, claimed he wasn't even on the island on March 18 when Mr Woolmer, 58, was murdered.

He said: "I was really shocked, obviously I had nothing to do with it as I wasn't even there. I went to Jamaica on March 12 for the first match and then I left on the 14th and went back to see the last match against Zimbabwe. On the second trip, I flew to Jamaica on the 20th and left on March 22."

Chaudhary added: "I didn't know Mr Woolmer, I knew the media manager of the Pakistan team, PJ Mir, I didn't know any of the players. When I returned to Jamaica, the team were pretty sad, like they had lost one of their own family members."

Chaudhary said he stayed at the team's Pegasus hotel both times he was in Jamaica, but has not yet been contacted by police.

Detectives are still hunting two other "hangers-on" who vanished after Mr Woolmer's death, named by sources as Hamad Malik, thought to be from London, and Jundie Khan, from Florida.

Pakistan team officials claimed yesterday the squad had been cleared of any involvement.

Spokesman Pervez (PJ) Mir said: "They were never officially detained and never officially suspects and the police have completely eliminated them from the inquiry. It has been a relief to the team to be cleared."

He also insisted Chaudhary and Tariq Malik were innocent. "Jundie Khan and Hamad Malik are not known to myself or any of the players. But Erfan Chaudhary is a close personal friend and I am outraged by the news he is being sought in connection with Bob Woolmer's murder. Tariq is also a very good friend of the team who cooks Halal food for the players."

Last night, Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields said investigators want to conduct a second post-mortem. The first found the cause of death to be strangulation.

He added: "If we arrest someone this week and charge them, the defence council will want a second post-mortem, the jury may want a second post-mortem."

Detectives are still examining CCTV footage from the corridor on floor 15 where Mr Woolmer was staying.

Yesterday, eight of the team, including wicket keeper Kamran Akmal, were taken to Heathrow under police escort to catch a flight to Pakistan.